Career Resource Center

Career Resource Center at the Library

We offer a variety of helpful resources and services for your use in your job search.

You can use the copier by the circulation desk for $.10 per page.

With the Simple Scan, located in the Computer Lab you can scan books or papers to a USB drive, fax, email, Google Docs or print. Scanning to a USB drive, emailing, or Google Docs is free, faxes are $1.00 per page and printing is $.10 for black and white and $.50 for color.

We also offer free WiFi.

Visit our job listings in the Career Resource Center

Log in to lynda.com to access thousands of tutorials, from resume improvement to tech skills.

Illinois Job Websites

Chicago Jobs: coverage of job postings stretches from the Wisconsin state line west to McHenry County, south to Kankakee County, and east to Porter County. There are some help pages; a few require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Chicago Job Talk: Provides links to other websites that have job postings. This website's strengths are providing a forum, coaching resources, and help for special groups.

Chicagoland Jobs: In addition to providing permanent, contract, and part-time opportunities, resumes can be posted. Job search resources include message boards, and contact information for resume writers and career coaches.

College Central: Run by a consortium of community colleges in Northern Illinois, this website lists local jobs that often don't make the national job boards. You have to register using a valid email address to which your password will be sent. Searches are done by occupation, location, job type (full or part-time, etc.) and/or keywords. You may also choose to show employment agency listings.

Illinois JobLink: You're a step closer to finding a job that works for you. Do a quick search right now and start applying for jobs! Or, take the next step and create an Illinois JobLink Job Seeker account - it's quick and easy!

Illinois Job Network: In addition to the regular features available at job most websites, this site has a number of links to other websites that specialize in X catagories: Diversity, University, Technical, and State Workforce.

Illinois Jobs: This website is fairly minimal, allowing job hunters to post a resume and employers to post job openings for the entire state.

Illinois Skills Match: Part of the State of Illinois' Department of Employment Security (IDES), this website operates like Monster or HotJobs, but focused on Illinois.

Illinois workNet: Illinois workNet partners with many different types of organizations throughout the state. ​One key organization in most local areas is the library. Libraries provide tools, resources, and assistance to any that walk through their doors. Illinois workNet provides resources and training materials for all partners, as well as User Guides to help library staff work with patrons to quickly identify their situation and see what steps they should take. Visit our Computer Lab Career Center to see our workNet materials.

Disability Works: The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the State of Illinois co-sponsor this website which has a database of service providers who provide job placement and career counseling services for people with disabilities. Links to each provider are included.

Illinois Workforce Center: Job searching is available, but this sites strengths are in it's additional services; Career Services (find out about an occupation or analyze what skills you have), Job Seeker Assistance, Education Services (to find a suitable training or educational program), and Labor Market Services (to retrieve information about labor market trends, statistics and other economic data).

Jobs in Chicago: Another website with Chicago jobs; most of them appear on other Chicago or Illinois job websites, however it charges employers less than most websites so there will be some jobs posted here that will not be found elsewhere.

Snag a Job: Primarily for those seeking hourly employment for possible secondary income or income between jobs. Providing your email and zip code allows you to include a profile, apply for jobs, and adds a means for being contacted. Please note: this site includes a lot of ads.

Suburban Chicago Help Wanted: The website also searches the city of Chicago. Searching can be done by category, city, company, or keyword. Resumes may be posted to the site.

National Job Listings

Glassdoor: A free jobs and career community that offers the world an inside look at jobs and companies. Their "employee generated content" – anonymous salaries, company reviews, interview questions, and more is all posted by employees, job seekers, and sometimes the companies themselves.

LinkedIn Jobs: Leverage the world’s largest professional network to build relationships and connect with opportunity. Use LinkedIn Job Search to harness the power of your network to uncover insights such as whom you know at a company, providing you an edge in your job search.

Career Builder: Owned by newspaper chains, you get listings like other supersites, but also ads from over 200 newspapers (these will, unfortunately include real estate and car ads however). Ads tend to be geared more toward blue collar and low-tech jobs. There are more pop-up ads than on other sites.

Monster: Search by keyword, geographical area, and industry. Website includes a Job Search Agent which notifies you when a new posting matches the criteria you have selected. Offers many additional services, including resume building, networking, etc.

Dice: This website is specifically for technology and engineering professionals. Jobs may be searched by location, type of employment, particular skills, and keyword. there is also a resume posting section and an area for career advice.

Government Jobs: Both state and local government jobs can be found. Help with federal resume writing, general resume and cover letter writing, and salary information is included, as well as information on careers in the federal government and resources for each state. No registration is needed.

National Able Network: Originally founded as an advocacy site for older workers in the Chicagoland area, it has expanded to a national job search site for all ages from entry level to mid-level professionals. links for job seekers and employers are in tiny print at the bottom of the homepage, but there is a wealth of information once the links are opened.

Retirement Jobs: For people over 50, this website offers both a free and a premium registration option. Free registration allows job searching, while a premium membership gets you one free critique of your resume, assistance in finding age-friendly employers, online workshops, etc. in addition to job searching.

Saludos: Bilingual (Spanish/English) professionals with a minimum of a B.A. degree are the target of this website.

USA Jobs--Working for America: This is the official job site of the U.S. Federal Government, set up by the Office of Personnel Management. After registering, you can create an account that can include up to 5 different resumes. Help navigating the website and the federal hiring process is also available.

Indeed: Browse by state and industry field. Check information about salary and job trends in many (but not all) fields. There are also forums about various fields of work and jobs available. Email alerts are sent if a new job is posted in your field of interest.

Jobster: This site indexes jobs from CareerBuilder, HotJobs, and some medium-sized boards, plus a variety of regional and specialty boards, as well as listings directly from empoyers. If you register and create a profile, you can include your main skills and some other data, plus you can upload video.

Simply Hired: Besides searching by area, job title and field you can (in some cases) view jobs by company; the website links directly to companies like Pepsi and Best Buy, etc. but many of the listings come from Career Builder. This website also meshes with the networking site LinkedIn; if a job pops up at a company, you can find out if anyone in your LinkedIn network works there. You may also post a resume to this site.

Job Networking

Chicago Urban League: The Chicago Urban League Entrepreneurship Center was founded in 2007 to assist African Americans launch, grow and sustain businesses. The Center provides entrepreneurs with the tools necessary to maximize revenue growth, profitability, job creation and innovation.

Jigsaw: Free membership (registration is required) allows the user to access company information at about two million companies (according to the website) which may include names of hiring managers and other potential contacts. You may connect via LinkedIn and other social networking sites.

MyWorkster: This website specializes in building networks among fellow students, alumni, and faculty in various colleges and universities. After you have created a free profile, you may browse other personal and company profiles.

Ryze: With a free membership, individuals can set up a home page, send messages to other members, and join networks related to a specific industry, a particular interest, or a location.

SCORE--Service Corps of Retired Executives: By registering at the website, you can connect with a personal advisor who can help you based on specific questions you have concerning your existing business. There are links to help you find a local chapter or SCORE sponsored workshops in your area. you may also sign up for an e-newsletter.

US Small Business Administration: The SBA is an independent agency of the U.S. government and is the primary gateway to actual financial assistance to small businesses. The SBA has information and tutorials on starting and developing a business.

Links to resume templates and other helpful tips

Learn tricks of online job searching and tips for posting resumes that get noticed.

Lynda.com: Career focused tutorials to expand and enhance your workplace and interviewing skills. Completion of coursework includes certificates for your Linkedin profile

Career One Stop: Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, this website is part of an interlinked network of job sites.

Google Docs: Access a variety of resume and cover letter templates for a more effective job search. You must sign into Google (Sign In is in the top right hand corner of the page).

Job-Hunt: Includes tutorials and other information on job-hunting and using the internet effectively, job search resources, industry journals, etc.

JobStar: Started off as a website for California job-hunters, but is now relevant to the entire nation except for the actual job postings (which are California only).

Job-Hunters Bible: Based on the best-selling book What Color Is Your Parachute? the website is updated frequently.

Quintessential Careers: Includes indexes of job-hunting resources, summaries of resume databases and job search guides, links to job listings by industry and profession. This is a very thorough website, so it may take a little while to get familiar with it.

The Riley Guide: Includes much of the same information as Quintessential Careers, but is somewhat easier to navigate.